Epilogue

 

Hasta Luego, Mi Querido is my debut short film– a solo project for my very first film class at the University of Miami. At the time, I was still enrolled solely as a business student with no prior experience in filmmaking, just an interest I wanted to develop. I had never written a script, operated a camera, or directed actors before. But this project was the turning point that led me to declare Motion Picture Production as my second major, and carved a pathway for the many film projects I would go on to work on in the coming years.

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The film was created entirely by me — writing, directing, shooting, and editing — with no crew and minimal gear. The idea came to me– as most ideas somehow tend to do– in the shower. And although it was a dorm shower at the time (which doesn't seem too creativity-inducing) it did the job nevertheless. 

 

I cast my freshman-year roommate, Cecilia Llamas, who would go on to appear in several of my later films, alongside Steven Ortiz, a fellow film major and friend who also encouraged me to further pursue film. We shot the film in one day, on location at Miami Beach, a choice I didn’t fully realize the difficulty of until I was on set — managing unpredictable light, sound,a busy public setting, and a deadly sunburn. In fact, I clearly remember my professor later telling me how surprised he was that I took on such a challenging location for a first project.

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The film opens in black and white. A young woman sits alone on the beach, holding a jar. A title appears: Hasta Luego, Mi Querido — meaning Until Later, My Dear. As the story unfolds, she shares a quiet conversation about love and memory with a man sitting beside her. It’s only revealed later that the man is no longer alive — he’s a ghost. The jar she’s holding contains his ashes, and she’s come to the ocean to let him go. As she steps into the water and releases them, the black-and-white image shifts into color — symbolizing her release, healing, and the emotional weight she’s finally ready to set down.

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This film is far from perfect. There are clear mistakes, rough edges, and learning curves embedded in every frame. But it’s a project I’m still deeply proud of  because it represents the beginning of my creative journey. It was the first time I saw a story come to life from nothing but an idea — and I’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.